Needed to Say
by notdonewithyou
Summary: Got inspired to write this while listening to Payphone by Maroon 5. Really doesn't have much to do with the song, but still. Hook needs to make a phone call to a certain sheriff. Takes place after 'In the Name of the Brother'. Captain Swan.


**A little ficlet I wrote about our beloved Captain and his Swan :)**

His hand encircled the small talking device he'd seen many of the townspeople using when he'd been spying around the town. He'd seen how it was used as a communication device, to talk to those who weren't physically with you. He wasn't going to pretend to understand it, he just knew, as he stared at the name on the screen, he wanted to use it to his advantage.

He'd pick pocketed her majesty, Mary Margaret or Snow as she'd been called (not that he cared at the moment), when she and the prince had come to his ship. He'd asked them to come, of course, to hand over Cora's cargo: the giant. He'd thought Emma would come with them, but when he'd been informed of her absence in the town, he'd been upset. When he'd been told that she'd left with his enemy, he was furious.

_Do you know why she left?_

He didn't care. She'd left with the Crocodile without a second word to him. For her to voluntarily aid his enemy in whatever endeavor was the ultimate betrayal. When they'd told him, he felt as if all the air had been taken from his lungs and he'd taken a good punch to the stomach. He had a flicker of worry for the lass, but it was quickly replaced by that dreadful feeling he'd experienced on the beanstalk, ten times worse than that in fact.

_Why should the reason matter to me?_

He didn't understand why he'd had the flicker of worry. He shouldn't care what happened to her, and yet there was something about her that drew him in. Her fiery personality was one that he hadn't seen in a very long time. Not since Milah, and he needed to know her. He needed to find out what made her tick and how she was outside of the dangers of the Enchanted Forest. He needed to know, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to be ensnared by her. He didn't want to care.

_She left to protect those she cared about. She agreed to leave when Gold threatened you._

The statement from her mother had been a shock. He knew she'd protected him on the roadside, but he assumed that had to do with the fact that the Crocodile's love was watching from a distance. But the thought that she actually cared for him seemed to foreign a concept to grasp. The thought that she wanted to keep him safe didn't make sense to him. It made about as much as him wanting her to be safe.

And yet, here he was, holding the small device in his hands, the word 'Emma' displayed on the screen as he contemplated what to do. If he were to contact her, what would he say to her? Would he thank her? Warn her? Praise her? He really wasn't sure. Maybe it would come to him when he heard her voice. Maybe that was all he wanted at the moment. To hear her voice. To reassure him that she was alright for now.

He pressed the green button that he'd figured out activated the device and heard the strange noise through the receiver. He waited and wondered whether this was the best idea. It didn't matter. He was already halfway there. He might as well see it through.

There was a small click, and then he heard it. The voice of the Savior—his savior—came through the phone. "Hey, Mary Margaret, I was just about to call you."

Of course she'd thought it was her mother. He was using her communication device. Suddenly, and very surprisingly, his words failed him. He couldn't bring himself to speak. Overwhelmed by the fact that she was still safe for the moment kept his words at bay.

"Mary Margaret?"

"Maybe she pocket dialed you," he heard her son's voice in the background.

He knew if he didn't speak soon, her voice would be gone, and he would most likely have to wait until she came back to talk to her again. He'd return her mother's phone to her and wait it out.

He took a deep breath, and simply said what he needed to say. "Thank you. And be careful, Emma."

As he took the device away from his ear, he heard a faint "Hoo-," before closing it to cut it off. He'd heard her voice, and he could breathe again.

A faint smile ghosted over his face, and, little did he know, that miles away, a certain blonde had a very similar expression grace her features.


End file.
